Hinterlands

A roleplaying game about class and community in a small rural town, far from the centers of power in a fantasy kingdom.

This is a free, playtest version of a Powered by the Apocalypse hack I’ve been developing off & on for a few years. I’ve run several playtests of this game, enough to know it’s pretty playable, but I know there are still plenty of rough edges too. The playtest packet PDF includes:

• Thematic & mechanical overview, and glossary
• Basic moves sheet
• 13 playbooks
• Village creation/record sheet
• GM sheet, including 1st session tips

That’s all the materials you’d need to print off for playing, and a short overview of the game’s system. It’s very brief, and mostly an introduction for the tone & genre the game aims for. Familiarity with other PbtA games is definitely useful! In particular, Sagas of the Icelanders, Apocalypse World: Dark Age, and Monsterhearts have the most overlap with this game.

More information about about this game is available at the Hinterlands mini-site. The mini-site also includes a pair of tools to auto-generate villages, plus characters & relationships between them. Handy to hit the ground running in a one-shot!

If you do run this game, I’d love to hear what went well, what went poorly, or any other feedback. Drop me a line! (or comment below!)